Majone, G. (1996) Regulating Europe. London: Routledge.
2. Where did/does the author work, what else has s/he written about, and what are her/his credentials?
Majone studied at the University of Padua in the early 1950s acquiring a Master of Arts in Political Economy in 1956, before enrolling at the Carnegie Institute of Technology where he received a Master of Science degree in Mathematics in 1960. In the early 1960s he studied at the University of California where he earned a Doctorate in statistics in 1965. In 1986 he was appointed Professor of Public Policy Analysis at the European University Institute (EUI), a post he held until 1995. He currently holds a position as an external professor at the EUI in addition to that of Visiting Distinguished Professor at the EU Center and Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in the University of Pittsburgh. The majority of his work in this field has been concerned with theories of delegation and their impact on the perceived democratic deficit in the European Union.
3. What are the topics of the text?
"Regulating Europe" explains why economic and social regulation is rapidly becoming the new frontier of public policy and public administration in Europe.
4. What is the main argument of the text?
This regulation, implemented by independent regulatory bodies, is replacing older forms of state intervention and the Keynesian welfare state.
5. Describe at least three ways that the argument is supported.
Special attention for pointing out how the lack of a tradition of statutory regulation in Europe affects the design of the new institutions.
The second part presents a series of case studies of particular regulatory policies and institutions in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and the EU.
It is suggested that the requirements of democratic accountability, and of subsidiarity, cannot be met by re-nationalizing European policies, much less by increasing the current level of centralization. A more promising solution is the development of "regulatory networks" closely integrating national and supranational regulators.
6. What three quotes capture the message of the text?
The market was relegated to the ancillary role of providing the resources to pay for this government largess, and any evidence of market failures was deemed sufficient to justify state intervention, often in the intrusive forms of centralized capital allocation and the nationalization of key sectors of the economy. Indeed, centralized management and unfettered policy discretion came to be regarded as prerequisites of effective governance. (p 1)
It is true that in Europe, as in the United States, traditional structures of regulation and control were breaking down under the pressure of powerful technological, economic and ideological forces, and were dismantled or radically transformed. This is often referred to, rather misleadingly, as ‘deregulation’. What is observed in practice is never a dismantling of all regulation—a return to a situation of laissez-faire which in fact never existed in Europe—but a combination of deregulation and re-regulation. (p 2)
For example, the substitution of environmental standards by economic incentives in the form of pollution charges does not do away with environmental regulation, but only introduces different and, hopefully, more efficient policy instruments. (p 2)
7. What three questions about environmental risk and precaution does this article leave you with?
What are some ways in which rewording the environmental problem relevant to the interests of the economic sector has worked?
If the policy making process in the US could be changed, what should?
What are the implications of delegation for democratic legitimacy and public accountability and in what ways could they be promoted (should they be?)?
Majone, G. (1996) Regulating Europe. London: Routledge.
2. Where did/does the author work, what else has s/he written about, and what are her/his credentials?
Majone studied at the University of Padua in the early 1950s acquiring a Master of Arts in Political Economy in 1956, before enrolling at the Carnegie Institute of Technology where he received a Master of Science degree in Mathematics in 1960. In the early 1960s he studied at the University of California where he earned a Doctorate in statistics in 1965. In 1986 he was appointed Professor of Public Policy Analysis at the European University Institute (EUI), a post he held until 1995. He currently holds a position as an external professor at the EUI in addition to that of Visiting Distinguished Professor at the EU Center and Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in the University of Pittsburgh. The majority of his work in this field has been concerned with theories of delegation and their impact on the perceived democratic deficit in the European Union.
3. What are the topics of the text?
"Regulating Europe" explains why economic and social regulation is rapidly becoming the new frontier of public policy and public administration in Europe.
4. What is the main argument of the text?
This regulation, implemented by independent regulatory bodies, is replacing older forms of state intervention and the Keynesian welfare state.
5. Describe at least three ways that the argument is supported.
6. What three quotes capture the message of the text?
7. What three questions about environmental risk and precaution does this article leave you with?